760F.62/805: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Brazil ( Caffery )
107. We view the situation in Europe as still very grave with one great imponderable being the estimate which Germany may be making of the eventual attitude of England and France. Since the decision of Chamberlain to fly to Germany and have an interview with Hitler, it is obvious that any appraisal must be purely provisional. As to our own attitude, we have considered that my speech of August 16, the President’s speech at Kingston, and my statement at the time of the anniversary of the Kellogg–Briand Pact,27 all three of which were prepared with considerable care, accurately reflect our views with regard to the immediate European and the general world situation. We have not made any démarche at individual capitals believing that it was better for our position to be a matter of public record.
In these circumstances you will appreciate that we have likewise had to decline to speculate as to what might be our attitude in any situation involving contingent possibilities.
- Statement issued on August 27, 1938, Department of State, Press Releases, August 27, 1938, p. 147.↩